Recltning-chair



QN@ Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. H. PLUMMER.

REULINNG CHAIR. Y No., 818,788. Y y 28, 1885.

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

1E'. H. PLUMMEB.. RBGLINING CHAIR.

Patented May 28 INVENTOR.

I ma Wa. x .D

WlTNESSES (No Model.) 3 sheetsY-sheet 3.

P. H. PLUMMER.

REGLINING CHAIR.. No. 318,795. Patented May 26.1885.

INVENTOR.

llivrrnn Saintes dPartitur @stica FRANK H. PLUMMER, OF HENNIKER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

RECLlNlNG-CHlR.

SPECFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 318,795, dated May 26, 1885.

Application led February 6, 1885. (No model.)

To @ZZ wtont it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. PLUMA/LER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Henniker, in the county of Meriimac and State of N ew Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reclining-Chairs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my improved reclining-chair, showing the same in position with the back raised and with the foot-rest lowered. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same with the back lowered and the footrest raised, with dotted lines showing` the head-rest raised and the foot-restlil'ted above the level of the seat. Fig. 3 is a rear view of the chair, showing the same in the position illustrated in Fig. l. Fig. l is a side view. Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the chair provided with the hammock attachment. Fig. 6 is a detail view on a larger scale of one of the armrests, showing its connections with the seat, back, and leg-rest; and Fig. 7 is a detail view of the leg and foot rests, parts of the same having been broken away for the purpose of illustrating the construction more clearly.

The same letters refer to the same parts in all the figures.

This invention relates to that class of re cliningchairs in which the back and the legrest are hinged or pivoted, respectively, at the front and rear ends of the seat, and in which the arm-rests form pivotal connections between the back-frame and the leg-rest frame, so that when the bach-frame is tilted back the leg-rest shall be automatically swung to a raised or elevated position; and it has for its object to produce a chair of this class in which the leg-rest frame shall swing upward at a greater rate of speed than the back-frame tilts back, in which the leg-rest frame shall be capable of being automatically raised to and sustained at a greater elevation than the seat wit-hout the use of separate braces or supports, in which the leg-rest shall be provided with a simple and convenient extension and rear legs of my improved chair, which are arranged, as shown, in pairs, crossingeach other, and connected by the central pivoting-bar, C. The upper ends of the legs are irmly secured to the side rails, D D, forming the seat-frame. The rear legs are set in a rearwardly-inclined direction, so as to afford braces to prevent the chair from` tilting over when in use by the weight of the upper part of the body of the occupant. It will be seen that by arranging the leg-frames transversely instead of longitudinally to the seat-frame the side rails of the latter are forced apart, the iiexible seat or cover is stretched, and all necessity for the use of transverse rangs or rounds is avoided.

The side rails, E E, of the back-frame are pivoted upon bolts F at the rear ends of the seatrails D, and are connected at their npper ends by a round or brace` G.

To the sides of the back-rails E E are pivoted the ends of a bow, H, forming the frame of the head-rest. The inner sides of the legs of the said bow are provided with pivoted braces I I, sliding in staples J J upon the baclerails E E, and having upturned outer ends, to prevent their esca-ping from the said staples. Said braces are also provided near their outer ends with notches or shoulders K, to engage the staples and retain the head-rest frame when swung forward for operation. rlhe upper part of the bow forming the head-rest, as well as the back-frame and the seat, is to be covered with canvas or other suitable liexible or textile material. It will be observed that. the covering of the headlrest will be supported upon the upper portion of the back` frame, so as to prevent the head-rest frame from swinging baci; ci" the latter. W'hen the head-rest is not in use, the braces drop down between its sides and the side rails of the back-frame, so as to be completely out of the way.

Pivoted to the front ends of the seat-rails are the side rails, L L, of the leg-rest, which are connected at their lower ends by a crossbrace, M, and near their lower ends by a metallic strap, N, which latter serves principally as a guide for the extensionpiece O. The latter consists of side pieces, l? l?, connected by braces Q Q, and to the lower ends of which is hingeda foot rest or support, R, which mayl be sustained at right angles to the frameO by means of hasps S S, attached to the side rails P P, and engaging staples T T in the hinged piece R. The frame O,which is covered with canvas or the like, is arranged to slide upon cleats U U, upon the inner sides of the rails L L,which are likewise provided with a flexible covering, under which the extension-frame slides.

The upper ends ofthe railsL L are provided with sockets V V, having forwardly-extending curved or segmental arms WV W, which are pivotally connected with the arm-rests X X near the front ends ofthe latter. The said arm-rests are pivoted to the side rails of the back-frame some distance above the points at which the latter are pivoted to the seat-rails, and they are provided with forwardly and downwardly extending scrolls Y Y, to the lower front ends of which the arms W W are pivoted. It will be noticed that by this construction and arrangement of parts the points Z, at which the arm-rests are connected with the arms or levers NV, are comparatively close to the points A', at which the leg-rest frameis pivoted to the seat-rails, and which form the fulcra of the lever-arms WV, while the points B', at which the rear ends of the arm-rests are pivoted to the side rails E of the back-frame, are comparatively at a considerable distance from the points G, at which the said backtraine is pivoted to the rear ends of the seatrails. It follows that when the back of `the chair is tilted in a rearward and downward direction the connecting-rods formed by the arm-rests will pull upon the levers W, so as to raise the leg-rest at a greater rate of speed, vwhich is proportioned by the difference in distance or leverage between the points B' C and Z A, relatively. Thus the leg-rest will assume a horizontal position before the back of the chair, and by the time the latter assumes a position approximately horizontal the free end of the leg-rest frame will be raised or lifted above the level of the seat, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings. When the chairisin this position, the head-rest frame may be raised, as shown, so as to support the head of the occupant of the chair.

D D designate a pair of curved arms or rods, pivoted to the seat-rails near their rear ends, and extending forwardly through a pair of perforated lugs, E E', pivoted to the sides of the arm-rests. The rods D are provided with collars F', adjustable by means of setscrews G', or in some other suitable manner, so as to form stops,which, by intercepting the lugs E at any desired point, will serve to arrest the tilt-ing motion of the chair,and enable it to be sustained by the occupant in any desired position. These stop devices may,how ever, be dispensed with,when desired,without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The side rails of the seat are provided near their front ends with downwardly-extending lugs H, adapted to enter perforations I in a cross-bar, J which may be arranged transversely under the seat, beyond which the ends of the said cross-bar project, as shown in Fig. 5, andin dotted lines in Fig. l of the drawings. Pivoted about centrally to the under side of the said cross-bar J are a pair of arms, K K", extending diagonally in a rearward direction under the side rails of the seat directly in front of the pivotal points of the back-frame.

To the ends of the bars J and K K are attached ropes or cords L', by means of which the chair may be suspended, so as to do service as a so-called hamnioclcchain When the chair is used in this manner,the cross-bar J serves to space the side rails of the seat and keep them apart, thus preventing any tendency in the seat to collapse. Vhen the chair rests upon the ground,the seat is kept stretched by the action of the crossed legs, which are arranged, as described, transversely under the seat, so that any weight upon the latter will have a tendency to spread the legs and stretch the seat. It will be observed that the suspension attachment does not in the least interfere with the tilt-ing or swinging motion of the back and leg-rest of the chair, which is capable of adjustment in precisely the same manner as when standing upon the ground.

Secured to the lower end of the extensionframe of the leg-rest, at the corners of the same, are a pair of cords, M, the upper ends of which are suitably attached to the upper front ends of the arm-rests, so that as the leg rest is elevated the said extension-frame may slide in an outward direction. The length of the cords is so calculated as to prevent the extension-frame from sliding entirely out of its bearings. By this arrangement,whenthe leg-rest is lowered, the cords will pull or draw the extension-frame back therein. Should the extension-frame prove too short for the comfort of the occupant, he may with his feet easily unhitch the hasps SS from the staples T T, thus causing the foot-rest to swing out in a line with the extension-frame, to which it is hinged, as shown in Fig. 2.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, the operation and advantages of my improved reclining-chair will be readily understood.

The construction is simple, and makes it possible to manufacture the chair in a useful and durable form at a small expense.

The chair may be readily adjusted to a variety of comfortable positions, and may, when desired, be used as a hammock-chair with- IOO IIO

out detracting from its capability ot' adjustment.

Vhen the chair stands upon the ground, the rearwardly-inclined rear legs obviate all danger of its tilting over under the Weight of the occupant. The head-rest and extension legrest are simple in construction, easily and partly automatically adjusted, and under no circumstances liable to get out of order.

It is also Worthy of notice that the chair may be easily and quickly taken apart or put together, and may be packed in a small spac for shipment.

In this case I disclaim all matter which has been claimed in my application Serial No. 155,069, of even date with the present application; nor do I claim, broadly, the arrangement of the crossed legs under the seat-frame, or the arrangement for locking the several adjustable parts in their adj usted position by means oi' holding-clamps, as I am Well aware that it is not neur in this class of chairs to arrange stops or clamps of different construction in such a manner that the adjustment of the several adjustable parts of the chair may be effected simultaneously and in such a manner as bto bring said parts into their proper relative position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesl. In areelining-chair, the combination of the seat-rails, the back-frame, and leg-rest frame, hinged or pivoted, respectively, at the rear and front ends of the same,` and the crossed legs arranged in pairs transversely under the seat, having their upper ends attached to the front and rear ends of the seatrails and connected by the central pivotingbar, the rear legs being set in a rearwardlyinclined position, so as to brace the chair, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the seat-frame, the

legs or supports, the hinged back-frame, the leg-rest frame hinged at the front ends of the seat-rails, and having sockets provided With forwardly and upwardly curved lever-arms, the arm-rests connecting the latter pivot-ally With the sides of the back-frame, the eXtension-frame arranged to slide on cleats upon the inner sides of the side rails of the leg-rest frame proper, andl cords connecting the lower corners of said extension-frame with the upper front ends of the arm-rests, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a reclining-chair, substantially as described, the leg-rest frame consisting of side rails, connected by cross-bars or braces having cleats upon their inner sides, and covered with fiexible or textile material, in combination with the extension-frame covered with ilegible material arranged to slide upon the cleats and under the covering of the main frame, and having a foot-rest hinged to its lower edge and vadapted to be retained at right angles to the frame by means of hasps, and the operating-cords, all arranged and operating substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the seat-frame, the legs or supports, the hinged back-frame, the hinged leg-rest frame having forwardly and upwardly extending lever-arms, the arm-rests connecting the latter pivotally with the backframe, perforated lugs pivoted to the sides of the arm-rests, and curved rods pivoted at the rear ends of the seat-rails, extending through said perforated lugs and provided with adjustable stop-collars, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto aiiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK H. PLUMMER.

Vitnesses:

AUGUsT PETERSON, XVM. Snorrnn. 

